Kartik Swami, Rudraprayag

Kartik Swami - A Temple Soaring Above Clouds

Kartik Swami temple, dedicated to the Lord Shiva's elder son Kartikeya, is set highly amidst serene beauty of Garhwal Himalayas in the Rudraprayag District of Uttarakhand.

KartikSwami Temple is located at the end a narrow ridge with deep valley all around, at an altitude of 3050 mts above sea level, offering splendid 360 degree view of Himalayas (both snow peaks and lower Himalayas). The temple has a naturally carved idol of Kartik Swami on a marble type rock.

The temple is famous for the trek route from the dense forest to the ridge from where you can see majestic sunrise and beautiful sunset. It is also famous for its natural beauty, birds and uninterrupted view of Himalayan peaks.

You can see snow clad peaks starting from Bandar Punch in the west, Kedarnath Dome, Meru and Sumeru, Chaukhambha peak, Neelkanth, Dronagiri, Nanda Ghunti, Trishul and Nanda Devi group of peaks.

During March and April you will find abundance of rhododendron on the trek, during Aug and September it's all green around and during November, December and January you will see the most clear and closer view of snow clad Himalayan ranges.

Festivals in Kartikswami: Kartik Poornima during November and 11 day Kalash Yatra during June.Best Time to visit: Oct to June

About Lord Kartikeya (Murugan)

Kartik Swami, the God of War and Victory, is known as Murgan (Murugan) Swami (in Tamil Nadu) and Subramanya in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, Kartikeya in Bengal.

Legend behind Kartikeya Temple

The legend states that once Lord Shiva told their sons lord Kartik and lord Ganesha that one of them will get the privilege to worship first whoever comes first after taking a complete round of the universe. Kartik started his journey but lord Ganesha shows his intelligence and circles around Lord Shiva by saying that whole universe is in him. Lord Shiva impressed by his intelligence gave the privilege to be worshipped first to Ganesha. Lord Kartik got angry with this and gave his flesh to mother Parvati and bones to his father Lord Shiva. In this temple the bones of lord Kartikeya are shown in the idol.

Location of Kartikswami

Kartik Swami temple can be reached through a mild 3 kms trek from Kanakchauri village, which is on the Rudraprayg-Pokhri route, just 40 kms from Rudraprayag.

Distance Chart to Kartik Swami:

Following is the distance to Kanakchauri village from important destinations; you can add 3 kms of trek from here.

How to reach Kartik Swami

From Rudraprayag: You can take a shared Jeep from Rudraprayag to Kanakchauri, which is the cheapest and best option. Shared jeeps takes around Rs 50 from Rudraprayag to Kanakchauri. Though there are some bus service from Rudraprayag to Pokhri via Kanakchauri but its timings are quite odd for tourists.

Note: It takes less than 2 hours to reach Kanakchauri from Rudraprayag. The road route to Kanakchauri from Rudraprayag is extremely scenic offering views of snow clad Himalayas and valley views.

While coming from Chopta, Ukhimath or Kedarnath: You can take shared jeep from Chandrapuri to reach Kanakchauri, from there there is a trek of 3 kms to Kartikswami temple. The road from Kanakchauri is connected to the roads of Kedarnath, Chopta and Badrinath, so you can visit temple without taking a detour.

Accommodation at Kartik Swami:

There is one newly built eco-lodge named Mayadeep Holiday Home in Kanak Chauri Village. It offers bamboo huts with all the modern facilities. It offers closer look of Garhwal village life and culture. One can stay there to have a nice experience of serenity of KartikSwami trek and around.

Also you can stay at the Ashram near temple managed by local priests, but you have to carry flour, rice, tea and some other grocery along.

Kartikswami located at 3 kms of trek to the summit of a 3000 mts
mountain, from Kanakchauri. The only place to stay near Kartikswami is
located in Kanakchauri village. The hotel in Kanakchauri offers basic facility with modern amenities.